Declaring the God of Unconditional Love

transmillennial 2008- a glimpse of glory

1/29/08

This past weekend we experienced the Transmillennial Texas Regional Conference at the Sjolander Road Fellowship. Six different speakers presented a consistent message of God’s goodness and mercy to an audience which was transfixed with the glory and majesty of a God who loves unconditionally and honors His covenant because his promises are inalterable. To paraphrase one speaker, The Old Covenant said I (God) will if you (man) will; the New Covenant says I (God) will because I (God) am. The first depended solely on man; the last depends solely on God.

Could anyone imagine in their wildest dreams a more magnificent end to the Bible account or a conclusion more at odds with what so many have been taught for so long. Maybe, just maybe, that explains Paul’s euphoria in Romans 11: 32-36. Maybe, just maybe, it explains the joyous anticipation exhibited throughout the New Testament scriptures, in spite of on-going trials and opposition.

The orthodox message of an incomplete salvation, awaiting a yet future catastrophe, doesn’t cause much joy. Declining church rolls demonstrate that all too dramatically. If the story isn’t joyous, if it doesn’t bring peace, if it requires my performance, it is not good news; and it is cannot be true. The Apostle John sums it up: The law (the Old Covenant) was given by Moses (man performs); grace and truth (the New Covenant) came by Jesus Christ (God promises).